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Thread: Thermostat housing recommendation?

  1. #1
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    Thermostat housing recommendation?

    I’m redoing my cooling system because the PO put junk in the coolant. I went with OEM plastic housing but it cracked during the install. I tried to torque to specification of 10NM but it failed at about 8NM.



    I figure an aluminum housing will hold up better. The install went smoothly so I buttoned everything up only to have it leak like crazy. The URO brand aluminum housing is junk and failed by the gasket. Hope the broken bits won’t damage the cooling system and lodge itself in the radiator or explode my new water pump.





    Any recommendations on which housing to go with??


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  2. #2
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    Get another plastic one. The trend has been like this:
    1990s - OMG! that plastic housing sucks.
    2000s - metal housings are cheaper. just use those with some RTV sealant
    2010s - gee. maybe these metal housings suck too. i'll try plastic again.
    2020s - gosh. the plastic housing is better. I'll get a genuine BMW housing and be done.
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  3. #3
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    Thermostat housing recommendation?

    Best first choice seems to be
    BWM OE thermostat housing with BMW OE ‘orange thingie’ seal/gasket.
    The OE housing does appear to have a thin film of sealant applied around the thermostat opening/bell.

    That said, I have and am using two different alloy die cast thermostat housings. I never use additional sealant.
    I have had 1 cast alloy thermostat housing leak due to porosity, and have returned one (mail order) and rejected one at parts counter, both due to casting flaws. Originally, the two brands were Ronal and Ronak, AIR. I see URO has entered the picture, own one as a spare, as I am maintaining three M52/S52 cars.
    These installations do not require sealant, one should not use silicone sealant sealing of the thermostat/T-Stat housing.
    When the factory does use sealant it uses a product closer to Permatex #2.


    Use the last seven of your VIN in www.realoem.com to get correct part numbers of OE part, beware of knockoff OEM parts.

    https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_6080

    Tighten the fasteners in a cross-circular pattern. There are two different diameters of attach fasteners that require different torque values.
    ‘Sneak Up’ on the torque with multiple turns to each fastener rather than putting a fastener in and applying full torque to one single fastener.

    Thermostat housing recommendation?
    Torque s/b 89 in-lbs for three fasteners and 17 ft-lbs for the lift hook fastener.
    Bentley, Section 1, 170-9.

    You can essentially hand tighten these with a short ratchet.

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    Last edited by bluptgm3; 01-24-2023 at 12:02 AM.

  4. #4
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    The second responce is great, go back to the oem

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the feedbacks. Maybe the OE plastic I got is a dud. I’ll order another plastic OE and give it a go.


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  6. #6
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    Yup, no issues with the OEM plastic housing I installed a year or so ago. Yours may have already had a small crack or defect there, so it split when torqued.
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  7. #7
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    It seems like the general consensus is that the aluminum ones were fine while they were good (I got mine ten years ago and it's never leaked a drop), but at some point they started getting really cheap, crappy, not true, and started to cause leaks. It's hard to find a good one these days so everyone has gone back to the OEM plastic one.

    I've talked to two people who had aluminum housings planed at a machine shop (after finding they leaked) and they were just fine. But that's a lot of effort for dubious return.

  8. #8
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    The plastic housing issue isn’t clear why it failed. Your metal housing issue is clear as day.

    You can use ANY housing you want as long as; it is flat (metal) and you use an OE gasket. Do NOT use aftermarket gaskets and do not use silicones. The thick silicone gasket is why your metal install leaked. They are too thick not allowing the housing to sit flush with uneven pressure.
    Last edited by Braymond141; 03-17-2020 at 12:34 AM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Braymond141 View Post
    The plastic housing issue isn’t clear why it failed. Your metal housing issue is clear as day.

    You can use ANY housing you want as long as; it is flat (metal) and you use an OE gasket. Do NOT use aftermarket gaskets and do not use silicones. The thick silicone gasket is why your metal install leaked. They are too thick not allowing the housing to sit flush with uneven pressure.
    They are also not (always) perfectly flat; I got a metal one that had a visibly uneven mating surface. They are very cheap castings that use low grade alloy.

    OE plastic is the only option IMO. Maybe that one got nicked or dropped because that crack IS unusual... you could probably even salvage it acceptably with JB weld.
    Last edited by jvit27; 03-17-2020 at 01:19 AM.
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  10. #10
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    I’m not going to bother salvaging that junk. Pelican is issuing a refund. The failure area in the metal one is certainly strange but I did use the gasket that came with it which may have caused its demise as Braymond pointed out. I removed the radiator and gave it a good shake and flush in case the metal bits are lodged in there.


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  11. #11
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by blckstrm View Post
    It seems like the general consensus is that the aluminum ones were fine while they were good (I got mine ten years ago and it's never leaked a drop), but at some point they started getting really cheap, crappy, not true, and started to cause leaks. It's hard to find a good one these days so everyone has gone back to the OEM plastic one.
    Add me to that category.

    I replaced the original plastic housing with an aftermarket aluminum version, brand unknown, well over 20 years ago. It's been bulletproof ever since. But if I had to get a new one today, I'd revert back to OEM plastic because of the terrible quality of the aluminum housings on offer today.

    Neil
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  12. #12
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    I got my housing from Zionsville, and initially after intstall it leaked a bit, so I took it off and applied some RTV and it's been good since. Like 6 years ago or so.
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by egebhardt View Post
    Get another plastic one. The trend has been like this:
    1990s - OMG! that plastic housing sucks.
    2000s - metal housings are cheaper. just use those with some RTV sealant
    2010s - gee. maybe these metal housings suck too. i'll try plastic again.
    2020s - gosh. the plastic housing is better. I'll get a genuine BMW housing and be done.
    I'm in the process of rebuilding my motor and plan on getting a new one when I install the cooling system. I was debating the same thing regarding using the metal vs plastic one. Last time I replaced the radiator and thermostat I ended up lapping my metal one on a granite surface plate with sheets of sandpaper until I got the imperfections out of it and a nice flat surface. However I think I might go with the factory plastic one like you mentioned.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    Add me to that category.

    I replaced the original plastic housing with an aftermarket aluminum version, brand unknown, well over 20 years ago. It's been bulletproof ever since. But if I had to get a new one today, I'd revert back to OEM plastic because of the terrible quality of the aluminum housings on offer today.

    Neil
    96 M3
    Pretty much my experience, except my aluminum one has only been in the car for 15 years or so...
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  15. #15
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    I installed a aluminum housing in 2015, no problems, a set from *bay sold by Uro with thermostat. I have a small electric grinder/polisher rotary tool and accessories kit and cleaned the surface a bit inside the housing where some spots were rough.
    For the contact surface I did a bit of sandpaper treatment, used a tiny bit of RTV for the surface. I did the surface treatment the way described in another post by a member: quote: "I surfaced mine on a piece of glass with 600grit wet/dry sandpaper adhered to it lubricated with WD40 got it down to .0015 with a straight edge and feeler gauges. I use this technique on anything that needs to be flat. You can use different grits for different roughness averages and the thicker the sheet of glass the straighter it will be. Ive even used this on aluminum heads with 800grit."
    No problem since then.
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  16. #16
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    So my 3rd replacement thermostat failed at the same spot again. I ordered the OEM from pelicans. Took my time slowly torqued in cross pattern by 2NM at a time until I reached 10NM. Although all seems well in the beginning, it stated to leak after I buttoned everything up. It failed at the same spot.

    Comparing to my original housing from 1998, the new OEM looks different.

    Notice how the original from 98 has a round dot in the middle.



    The original has a BMW emblem inside the housing but the replacement one doesn’t have it





    Here is the same spot that failed last time




    Feeling pretty frustrated and at point where I feel like putting the original housing back in.


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  17. #17
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    Thermostat housing recommendation?

    I don’t recall the values but three fasteners have a lower value than the fourth lift hook location.

    An OE replacement is not an OE replacement unless it displays the BMW Rondel logo.


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    Last edited by bluptgm3; 03-20-2020 at 07:06 AM.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluptgm3 View Post
    I don’t recall the values but three fasteners have a lower value than the fourth lift hook location.

    An OE replacement is not an OE replacement unless it displays the Rondel logo.


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    They're easy to strip, too, if you get the torque wrong. When I was just starting out ten years ago (when I got my aluminum thermostat housing) I accidentally used one of the short bolts in the long hole, torqued it for the long bolt, and it pulled the aluminum threads right out. Luckily there were enough threads left to avoid a helicoil when I put the correct bolt in, but I shudder to think of the mess it would have made if I'd stripped one of the short holes...

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  19. #19
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    You need to post pics of your hardware, how you're installing it and the head area. You're doing something wrong.

  20. #20
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    Never had issue with aluminum housing. Cleaned off the euro label, bought an oem housing seal with no silicone. 6-7 years no issues. It’s when you use hose water/faucet water that ruins it overtime. Corrosion develops around the seal and now you have a gap between the seal and gasket and now need new housing.


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  21. #21
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    Since you keep cracking it on the thermostat side; Are you sure you're installing the thermostat right? The thermostat goes into the head first, then the oring.

  22. #22
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    Thermostat is placed correctly with thermostat in first then o ring next. I though maybe it was the old hardware but it cracked with new hardware as well.

    I don’t see how I can get this wrong. It only has 4 bolts with 3 10mm and 1 13mm. Torquing everything was a cinch except for that damn bottom one.

    A new torque wrench is on the way just in case it’s out of calibration.

    We’ll see


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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Miclin View Post
    Thermostat is placed correctly with thermostat in first then o ring next. I though maybe it was the old hardware but it cracked with new hardware as well.

    I don’t see how I can get this wrong. It only has 4 bolts with 3 10mm and 1 13mm. Torquing everything was a cinch except for that damn bottom one.

    A new torque wrench is on the way just in case it’s out of calibration.

    We’ll see


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    What torque wrench were you using? These should never be torqued with anything bigger than 1/4". I find that click style, even in 1/4" are super sketchy too. I refuse to use them now.

    This is my go-to.


  24. #24
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    Thermostat housing recommendation?

    Torque s/b 89 in-lbs for three fasteners and 17 ft-lbs for the lift hook fastener.
    Bentley, section 1, 170-9.

    You can essentially hand tighten these with a short ratchet.
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by bluptgm3; 03-21-2020 at 08:27 AM.

  25. #25
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    RRSperry is offline Senior Moment Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Jeez you guys actually use a torque wrench? It's really just snug with a 1/4" drive ratchet. In fact I'd bet you could just use a 1/4" hand driver... It's not the housing that seals, it's the orange profile gasket,

    On another front, I'd check that the mating surfaces are in fact flat. I have a 12" square piece of marble that I know is flat. I put sandpaper (1000w/d) on it, and then very lightly sand the housing surface to see.

    Since I have a 1/4-28 temp sender in the alloy housing, I haven't seen a plastic one in a long time. (probably for 20 years now) and no issues at all
    No matter where you go, there you are...

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